Afghan defence minister, army chief resign post Taliban attack

Following the deadly Taliban attack on an Afghan army base, Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi and National Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shaheem on Monday resigned with immediate effect.

“Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect,” the Khaama Press quoted the Office of the President, ARGPalace, as saying on Monday.

Afghanistan Interior Ministry’s Major General Tariq Shah Bahrami has been appointed as the acting minister of defence and General Sharif Yaftal.

The deadly attack on Shaheen Army Corps in Balkh province on Friday claimed the lives of over 100 soldiers.

The terrorists were able to penetrate inside northern Afghanistan’s largest military installation dressed like the Afghan Army soldiers returning from the front lines, carrying the bodies of wounded comrades.

Dressed in uniforms, a squad of 10 Taliban terrorists drove in two army Ford Ranger trucks past seven checkpoints and launched a coordinated attack as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of unarmed soldiers were emerging from Friday prayers and preparing for lunch, according to media reports.

For the next five hours, the terrorists went on a rampage, killing at least 140 soldiers and officers in what is emerging as the single deadliest known attack on an Afghan military base in the country’s 16-year war.